Dr Paul Allen

The Reformed Church of France, Paris, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) John Calvin (1509–1564) is easily the most important Protestant theologian of all time and remains one of the truly great men who have lived. A world-class theologian, a renowned teacher, an ecclesiastical statesman, and a valiant Reformer, Calvin is seen by many as the greatest influence on the church since the first century.  Apart from the biblical authors themselves, Calvin stands as the most influential minister of the Word the world has ever seen. Philip Melanchthon revered him as the most able interpreter of Scripture in the church, and therefore labeled him simply "the theologian" ( J. H. Merle d'Aubigné , History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin, Vol. 7[1880; repr., Harrisonburg, Va.: Sprinkle, 2000], 82). And Charles Spurgeon said that Calvin "propounded truth more clearly than any other man that ever breathed, knew more of Scripture, and explained it more c...

Leonhard Euler (1707–83), one of the most prominent scientists (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Voltaire and Frederick the Great mocked him; Catherine the Great of Russia employed him; Mathematicians revere him. His name was Leonhard Euler. The son of a Protestant minister, Euler was born on this day, April 15, 1707, in Basel, Switzerland . Euler showed early promise in math, a promise that was amply fulfilled. Gathered together, his works fill sixty encyclopedia-size volumes! He was a founder of analysis and made major advances in arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry and calculus. His symbols are used to this day. The Euler constant, Euler numbers, Eulerian integrals and other mathematical forms are named for him. Euler almost didn't make it into math. His father wanted him to be a minister. But Euler knew what he was best at and pleaded to be allowed to switch courses. His father finally agreed. Euler remained a staunch Calvinist all his life. Catherine I invited the young man to ...

Desiderius Erasmus, 1466-1536, Rotterdam Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest and theologian, by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1523. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Desiderius Erasmus  was born in Holland in 1466, the illegitimate son of a  Roman Catholic priest . He was given a fine education at monastic schools and, when he was twenty-five years old, was ordained as a priest. Three years later he began studies at the University of Paris and there he was exposed to Renaissance humanism and seeds were planted which would later make him a fierce opponent of excess and superstition within the Catholic Church. He soon travelled to England and while there was persuaded by  John Colet , an English scholar, to study the New Testament.  Erasmus believed that to properly understand the New Testament he would need to first learn Greek and for that reason he began an intense, three-year study of the language. Before long he was not only fluent in Greek, but had becom...